The present invention relates generally to ball hitting practice devices which hold a ball so that it can be hit with a hitting implement, and is particularly concerned with such a device for use in baseball or softball hitting practice.
Baseball and softball practice hitting devices are generally known as batting tees, and normally have a flat base, a vertical post projecting upwardly from the base, and a ball placed on top of the post for hitting by a player. The base is typically of the same size and shape as a baseball home plate. The ball may be tethered to the device for easy retrieval. The post is generally adjustable in height.
One problem with most prior batting tees is that they can support the ball in one position above the tee only. This does not allow the batter to practice for real world situations, where the ball will arrive at different locations over home plate. Some prior art batting tees do allow for some adjustment in ball position relative to the base, but these are all subject to some disadvantages. U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,554 of Liao describes a training device in which the lower end of the post is pivotally attached to the base, and the post has a bendable portion which can be adjusted to keep the ball receiving cup upright. U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,692 of Bird describes an adjustable batting tee having a plurality of pivoted sections which would be quite difficult to adjust. U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,318 of Lay describes a ball hitting practice device for baseball and softball in which the post has a spring at its lower end which is pivotally attached to the base. The pivot mounting is used to adjust the inclination of the post, while the spring is simply used to allow the pedestal or post to bend when the ball is hit.